We are writing today to ask this Council to grant civil service protections to the workers of the Memphis Public Library system. We believe this change in status will strengthen our ability to best serve the people of Memphis and Shelby County by affording us greater workplace safety, stability, and trust in the parameters of our employment. It will also empower us to urge the library to grow in ways that will better serve the communities we engage with every day.

The mission of the public library is to equally connect patrons to vital resources, programming, and assistance. The employees of the Memphis Public Library system strive to ensure that every resident, regardless of any inhibiting factor, is able to access the information and support they need. In the daily routine of our jobs, we create a direct, positive impact on our community that is, for many of us, the reason why we choose to work at MPL. If not for the dedication, perseverance, and repeated effort of its workers, the library system would not be as widespread and immediately vital to our community as it is today.

Memphis Public Library workers face innumerable problems that we have been so far unable to address: standards of pay that do not reflect our education or provide a livable wage, workplace safety issues that threaten both ourselves and our patrons, the unfair treatment of branch libraries compared to the Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library, a lack of transparency and communication from management, and above all, a lack of representation. We provide countless services beyond the work of maintaining and distributing the books on our shelves, such as tax and legal assistance, connections with housing and health services, and job fairs and application assistance. Yet many of the people who offer those very services are on the brink of requiring them themselves, due to our not having a voice in any discussion regarding our workplaces and the conditions of our employment. As long as we remain appointed, we will not receive treatment equal to other City divisions, and our libraries, which have for so long been a cornerstone in our local government’s demonstrated investment in our neighborhoods, will continue to fall further into disrepair despite the best efforts of MPL workers.

Mayor Young has said that “moving the city forward requires strategic investments in public safety, infrastructure, and the potential of our greatest asset—our people.” Yet when it comes to the library system, a system designed to funnel resources directly into the hands of every Memphis and Shelby County resident, that investment doesn’t even reach as far as its employees.

As government workers, our job is to never say no but to instead find a way around every obstacle until every patron has what they need; yet what we hear most often from the City is “No.” Even after the horrific shooting at the Officer Geoffrey Redd Branch, formerly the Poplar-White Station Branch, and after promises of change were made to employees, security remains minimal at library branches. The vehicles used for delivery between libraries have twice been seized due to OSHA violations. The escalators in the Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library have been inoperable for years, despite patrons’ sincere interest in their being repaired—especially the patrons who are claustrophobic or otherwise unable to use the elevators to reach the upper floors of the library. These are just a few examples of the conditions we endure in the daily performance of our jobs, conditions that hinder us and yet are currently outside our ability to change. By granting library employees civil service protections, we will gain the freedom to speak to the issues that directly inhibit our ability to best serve our community.

The city of Memphis has long been a symbol in the fight for dignity, justice, and workers’ rights—a legacy shaped by the 1968 sanitation workers’ strike and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s unwavering commitment to those values. Today, our city has the opportunity to carry that legacy forward. By restoring civil service protections for library workers, Memphis can demonstrate what it means to follow Dr. King’s precedent and, through action, lead with fairness, compassion, and integrity.

We call on Mayor Young and the members of City Council to abide by Mayor Young’s words, lead through action, and invest in the public safety, infrastructure, and people of the library.

To achieve this goal, we have partnered with the Communications Workers of America (CWA) to establish a union for library workers. We are raising our voices as one to negotiate for civil service protections for the 225 non-exempt employees of the Memphis Public Libraries. We implore you to work with us to ensure that the library workers of Memphis have the support we need to serve our community. If we work together, we can make Memphis a better place, little by little, with every patron that we serve.